The Hunger Games

Could not put this book down.

The author does an exceptional job developing the characters with complicated and emotional personalities that I could really relate to.  I felt myself constantly asking "what would I do in this situation" and being sucked into the high-tech, ruthless, and voyeuristic society that replaces North America in the future.

Honestly, the whole premise of the book is uncomfortable.  Here's an excerpt from Amazon.com:

In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch.

Fortunately, the story follows the struggles, triumphs, and coming-of-age of a 17-year-old girl and doesn't really focus on the horrible (but frighteningly relatable) world that she lives in.

Love.  War.  Sacrifice.  Plot twists and turns.  Absolutely engrossing.

The Hunger Games is young adult fiction and sci-fi woven to give us a glimpse into the barbaric, selfish, competitive... compassionate, loving, beautiful sides of human nature.

I'm going to put it up there with The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo and give it a 7 out of 10.

Quick and Easy Spaghetti with Sun-Dried-Tomato-Almond Pesto

This vegan recipe is so easy and delicious, it's a perfect mid-week meal served with a salad!  Yum!

It's no surprise that this recipe's from Food & Wine...

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (3 ounces)
1/3 cup salted roasted almonds
1 large garlic clove, sliced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
12 ounces spaghetti
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes, almonds and garlic. Add 1/4 cup of the oil and puree. Season with salt and pepper.

In a skillet, toast the bread crumbs in 2 tablespoons of the oil, stirring, until golden. Transfer the crumbs to a plate; season with salt and pepper.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. In the pot, toss the pasta with the pesto, reserved cooking water and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until the sauce clings to the pasta. Transfer the pasta to bowls, sprinkle with the bread crumbs and parsley and drizzle with olive oil. Serve.

Salt-Crusted Snapper with Eggplant-Raisin Puree

Michael has been dreaming of doing a whole salt-crusted fish for a long time.  So when he saw this in Food & Wine, it was a dream come true.

I wasn't too sure about the eggplant-raisin puree but it turned out really good!  Plus we used our Chinese eggplants and bay leaves from our balcony garden to make it extra fun!

The fish was moist, juicy, and not very salty!  And the bones were really big and easy to pick out so not to get stuck in your throat like smaller fish.  Great summer dish.

INGREDIENTS
Three 4-inch cinnamon sticks
1 medium eggplant (1 pound)
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Cayenne pepper
3 pounds kosher salt
2 cups water
One 2-pound cleaned red snapper
2 bay leaves
1/2 lemon, preferably Meyer lemon, cut into wedges

Preheat the oven to 400°. Poke the cinnamon into the eggplant. Roast the eggplant on a baking sheet until tender, about 50 minutes. Transfer the eggplant to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool slightly. Discard the cinnamon and peel the eggplant.

In a microwave-safe bowl, cover the raisins with water and microwave at high power until plumped, about 30 seconds. Drain the raisins and transfer them to a blender. Add the roasted eggplant and the olive oil and puree until smooth. Season the puree with sea salt and cayenne.

In a bowl, mix the kosher salt with the water until it is the consistency of moist sand. On a parchment paper–lined baking sheet, mound one-fourth of the salt slightly larger than the fish. Lay the fish on the salt and fill its cavity with the bay leaves and lemon wedges. Poke a short skewer into the thickest part of the fish, just behind the head. Pack the remaining kosher salt over and around the fish to enclose it; leave the skewer visible.

Bake the fish for about 35 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the skewer hole registers 135°. Let the fish rest for 5 minutes; crack and remove the salt crust. Serve the fish without the skin, with the eggplant puree alongside.

Serve With Arugula salad.

DIY Terrarium: The Perfect Gift!

We were invited to a housewarming party for our friends Matt and Meg this weekend and I thought it would be nice to put together a little terrarium for their new place.

As most people know, I'm never lacking in plants and always more than willing to share my collection (to make room for more plants, of course!)

The only thing I had to pick up at the garden center was the glass container... but I'm an impulsive plant shopper and picked up this little fuzzy green plant  in the back because I thought it was cute.

Terrariums are super easy: layer of pebbles, layer of charcoal, layer of dirt, and then start decorating!  I pinched off some succulents from the mama plants on my windowsill, threw in a miniature african violet that I propagated last year, then put some moss, rocks, marbles, and whatever else I could find to make it look cozy.

I also like to personalize terrariums using a paint pen and/or sharpie pen.  Just makes it a little more special.

Crostini with Prosciutto, Goat Cheese and Fig Jam

Here's a appetizer that we intended to serve at our dinner party but we ran out of time and HAD to eat them all ourselves!

I found this recipe on a fun new blog The Italian Dish while looking for fig recipes.  If only I could find fresh figs in DC to accompany these delicious little bites, this presentation would have been perfect.

Although sweet basil is probably easier to find in the supermarket, we used thai basil from our balcony garden instead.  It gave it a little more punch and the leaves were the perfect size!

INGREDIENTS
1 fresh baguette
1/8 cup olive oil
sea salt or kosher salt
4 ounces goat cheese, plain, at room temperature
6 tablespoons fig jam
3 slices prosciutto, each cut in half
6 fresh basil leaves
(makes six crostini)

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.

Slice six 1/2-inch slices of bread from the baguette. I slice mine slightly on the diagonal. Place on a baking sheet and brush generously with the olive oil. Sprinkle a little salt on each slice. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until crisp and slightly golden. Watch that they do not burn. Remove from oven and cool slightly.

Spread some goat cheese on each crostini. Spread about a tablespoon of fig jam on top of the goat cheese. Fold the half slices of prosciutto and place on top of each crostini. Lay a fresh basil leaf on each and serve.

Gazpacho

Another summer favorite that we served at our dinner party this weekend was gazpacho using the tomatoes and parsley from our balcony garden!  Our favorite recipe is in Joy of Cooking, but the only thing we tweak is substituting the green bell pepper for red bell pepper.  I just don't like the bitter taste of green bell peppers.

Here's the recipe on page 99:



Note: It's delicious with a couple slices of garlic toast.  Just press as many garlic cloves as you want into a bowl, mix some olive oil into the garlic, spoon it onto some sliced baguette, and pop it in the oven or toaster oven until it's toasted!

Tarte au Citron

This weekend we hosted a 9-person formal dinner at our apartment to welcome yet another Class of '98 Campolindo High School grad (and her husband) to DC!  We had to pull out both leaves of our table, turn it sideways a tad, and pull over the desk chair to fit everyone, but it turned into a great night of good food and good friends.

One of the highlights of the night was the new dessert recipe I tried: Tarte au Citron (French Lemon Tart).  I found the recipe on Saveur and it looked simple enough, so I thought it would be a great dessert on a hot and humid DC summer evening.

Truthfully, it wasn't as simple as I thought because the crust didn't roll out as neatly as I expected, but I can honestly say that it was worth it!  The crust was like a delicious shortbread cookie surrounding this light, refreshing lemon custard.  The filling was super quick and easy to throw together and I garnished it with fresh mint leaves from our balcony garden and raspberries for a splash of color.



INGREDIENTS
For The Pastry:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup superfine sugar
Pinch salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
16 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces

For The Filling:
6 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tbsp. heavy cream

1. For the pastry: Preheat oven to 375°. Sift together flour, sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl. Beat together 1 of the eggs and the yolk in a small bowl, then add eggs, along with the butter, to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter or 2 knives to work butter and eggs into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a clean surface and, working with a handful at a time, knead mixture with the heel of your hand into a smooth dough. Gather together and knead briefly to form a smooth ball, then dust with flour.

2. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 14" round, then carefully ease into a 12" false-bottomed tart pan. (Pinch dough back together if it tears or cracks.) Run rolling pin over the top of the pan to cut off overhanging dough, then prick crust with a fork. Line dough with parchment paper, add pie weights or dried beans, and bake on a cookie sheet until edge of crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Beat remaining egg in a bowl. Remove parchment and weights from crust, brush bottom with egg, and continue baking until crust is golden, 5–7 minutes more. Set aside to cool.

3. For the filling: Reduce oven to 300°. Beat eggs and sugar in a medium bowl until thick and well mixed. Gradually add lemon juice, then cream, whisking constantly. Pour filling (you may have a little extra) into prepared crust and bake until filling is set, about 40 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Pasta With Anchovies and Arugula

I saw this recipe on the NY Times this weekend and Michael quickly determined that we would make it that day!  Now it's one of his favorite go-to recipes.

The Minimalist posted a quick and easy video that will convince you to make this tonight too!

Pasta With Anchovies and Arugula
INGREDIENTS
Salt
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and slivered
8 anchovy fillets, or more to taste, with some of their oil
1/2 teaspoon or more crushed red pepper flakes
6 cups arugula
1/2 pound linguine or other long pasta
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it.

2. Put the oil in a deep skillet, and turn heat to medium. A minute later, add the garlic, and then the anchovies and red pepper flakes. When the garlic sizzles and the anchovies break up, turn the heat to its lowest setting.

3. Cook the pasta until it is tender but not mushy. Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid, and drain. Add pasta to skillet, along with enough reserved cooking water to make a sauce. Off the heat, combine the pasta with the greens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss, taste and adjust the seasoning and serve.